Political Ballpark

San Diego  The Viejas Indian tribe has been spreading plenty of freebies around the state legislature of late. The tribe has disclosed a total of $7423.31 in lobbying "Activity Expenditures" from April through June. The biggest chunk of that was for a Republican legislative staff bash at Petco Park on May 16 that set the tribe back a total of $3908. Beneficiaries included staffers for Assemblyman Joel Anderson (4); Shirley Horton (2); George Plescia (2); Martin Garrick (4); Mimi Walters (1). Each admission was valued at $195.41. The tribe also sprang for $274.21 in concert tickets for Democratic assemblyman Tony Mendoza on April 27 and food and beverages that day for Marisela Cervantes and Claudia Ornelas, two Mendoza staffers, costing $88 each at the tribe's Grove Steakhouse in Alpine.

Meanwhile, the utility giant Sempra Energy tossed its own bipartisan legislative party at Petco Park on June 24, costing a total of $3372. Attendees included GOP assemblyman George Plescia; John Ferrera, chief of staff to Democratic state senator Denise Ducheny; Don Wilcox, chief of staff to Democratic senator Gloria Negrete McLeod; John Dickinson, chief of staff to GOP senator Roy Ashburn; Rob Flanigan, senior consultant to Republican assemblyman Chuck DeVore; Shaun Flanigan, chief of staff to Plescia; and Ryan Flanigan, legislative director for Republican assemblyman Cameron Smyth. Besides their baseball outing in San Diego, Plescia and aide Flanigan also got a $35 ticket to a Giants game in downtown San Francisco on May 22, courtesy of AT&T.